BusinessReport.com

At a news conference this afternoon, city-parish officials will unveil the second component of a $989 million proposed bond proposition--a major one-of-a-kind tourism attraction in the form of a 220,000-square-foot nature center on the riverfront.

According to the proposal, the Audubon Nature Institute will run Audubon Alive, which will cost $305 million to build. It is contingent upon East Baton Rouge Parish voters agreeing to a 9.9-mil property tax and a ½-cent sales tax over a 30-year period, and upon the state agreeing to kick in $55 million. If the Metro Council gives the go-ahead, the measure likely will be put on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Audubon Alive, slated for completion in 2012, will offer four venues: Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. The project would be built in DeSoto Park, near Hollywood Casino. Among the attractions:

· An aquarium with hands-on activities and walk-through underwater environments;

· Virtual experiences similar to Disney's Soaring -- an interactive experience with 270-degree IMAX like view in a glider simulation;

· A fast-paced adventure attraction featuring HD film technologies and virtual reality;

· Weather- and storm-related interactive theater programming providing experiences of hurricanes and global-warming issues in the setting of the wetlands;

· Live animal encounters focused on habitat and species preservation;

· An indoor walk-through swamp with an interactive theater;

· Celebrations of local culture and heritage with Rythms & Blues -- a 900-seat theater with animal-centered live shows and performances.

An economic impact study done by the Audubon Nature Institute predicts the attraction will generate net earnings through job creation of $167 million in its first four years of operation, rising as high as $700 million by 2021. The Institute also estimates the project could prompt as much as $575 million in new spending in Baton Rouge during those initial four years and boost tax collections by as much as $30 million. Audubon Alive also could create an estimated 5,000 new jobs by 2016.

City-Parish Chief Administrative Officer Walter Monsour dubs the project a “recession buster,” meaning it will drive tourists to Baton Rouge and boost the economy.

The announcement comes one day after city-parish officials unveiled an ambitious proposal to renovate the River Center, prompting Armada Hoffler’s plan to build two new hotels. The full Capital Improvements Program will be presented to the Metro Council at noon on Wednesday. It includes the following still-tentative components:

An estimated $135 million for a new 2,300-bed parish prison on North Baton Rouge landfill property. That move will free up the existing airport site for commercial development and save $3 million a year in fees to house prisoners in prisons in other parishes.

Approximately $43 million for a new Juvenile Services Center and court in an undisclosed site away from the airport;

An estimated $90 million for a First Responder Complex on Harding Boulevard linking the separate buildings of the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office with the existing Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness and the Fire Department and Coroner’s Office;

Nearly $26 million to replace eight fire stations, renovate an existing station and build a new training tower;

Approximately $208 million for drainage projects and 38 bridgereplacements, which will be combined with $137 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers;

An estimated $45 million to finish traffic-light synchronization; Approximately $49 million to renovate the governmental building after the courts move into the new courthouse, creating a true City Hall.